Higher education lecturer
Use your knowledge of an academic subject or profession to teach students and help them with research.
Also known as: university lecturer, professor, college lecturer
About the job
What it's like
Do you have an in-depth knowledge of an academic subject or profession? Put it to good use by teaching students and helping them with research projects.
As a higher education lecturer, you'll teach academic or vocational subjects to students. You’ll help them study for undergraduate degrees and postgraduate qualifications.
Alongside giving lectures, you'll contribute to your department's research activities. You may publish your research in journals and books, or present it at conferences.
You'll use your enthusiasm for your subject to motiate and inspire students. You must be confident enough to lecture and present to large groups of people.
Your tasks might include:
creating teaching materials and preparing for sessions
giving lectures, seminars and practical demonstrations
uploading materials to your university’s virtual learning environment and leading online discussions with students
setting and marking assignments, essays and exams
acting as personal tutor to a group of students
attending or contributing to professional conferences and seminars
Explore more information about this job
Here are some useful links to learn more about this career:
Research Council UK – find investment and support for researchers
Disclosure Scotland – learn more about the Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme
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Education
Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Meta skills
Here are some of the meta skills you'll need to do this job.
- motivating others
- mentoring
- coaching
- ethical
- social conscience
- respecting
- empathising
- written communication
- verbal communication
- supporting
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore each section to find more information about getting into this career.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
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English
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English and Communication
University
You'll need a degree that's relevant to the subject you want to teach. Higher education lecturers are also expected to have completed a postgraduate master's or PhD qualification, or be working towards one.
You'll likely do a teaching qualification soon after you start working as a lecturer. Your employer will normally give you the chance to do this qualification and you'll study it alongside your daily duties.
Lecturers can gain experience by taking on teaching duties while you're a postgraduate student. Some universities also offer posts as a graduate teaching assistant.
If you want to teach a vocational subject, like journalism or engineering, you should have several years' work experience. You may not need a postgraduate master's or PhD qualification to teach a vocational subject.
Use the My World of Work course search to find degrees, postgraduate master's or PhD qualifications.
It helps if you're a confident, engaging, articulate and well-organised person.
Many lecturers continue to research and publish work throughout their career – this can help you progress to senior roles.
You must be approved for membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme, run by Disclosure Scotland.
Most higher education lecturers have previously had academic work published in their chosen area of expertise.
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